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Topic : 10/05 Attack in the Night

Number of Replies: 53

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Created on : Friday, September 29, 2006, 09:48:42 am

Author : DrPhilBoard1

On a quiet night in mid-May in beautiful Orange County, California, Greg and Estela Becker were viciously attacked by a man with a hatchet as they slept in their bed. Despite sustaining head and neck wounds from their attacker, they were able to push him out of the room, and Greg ran for help. Their attacker escaped, and police are still working to locate him. In the meantime, an entire community struggles to find peace in what once was a safe neighborhood. Greg and Estela's twin 9-year-old daughters saw their parents covered in blood, adding to the trauma of this event. Their next-door neighbors, Anne-Marie and Billy Linas, were shocked by what they saw when Greg ran to their house for help. Dr. Phil meets with this community to discuss how they can move forward and feel secure again. Talk about the show here.

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Police Officers who rape

Dr. Phil,

Have you ever thought about the people in our community that are supposed to be good people but they are one's commiting crimes also. It would be interresting to know how many more people out there have been raped by a police officer and no charges have been filed due to threats.

I hope they catch this monster

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I was also the victim of a violent attack in the middle of the night. I am one of the lucky ones who survived. Many do not. Here are some things I've learned since then that might keep you safe in the future.

1) Cell Phone. Sleep with a cell phone by your bed. Always. Attackers typically cut phone lines. If you have a cell phone, then you have a way to communicate in an emergency.

2) Security System. Have a security system installed in your home. And USE IT. It sounds so simple and many people do have them, but many people still don't. Husbands, if you travel frequently, please do this for your wives. Fathers, if you have a young single daughter who is living alone or with roommates, offer to help do this for her. Securing a home should be as much a priority as requiring someone to wear a seatbelt in the car. You hope you'll never need it, but you use it all the time anyway.

3) Self Defense. Take self defense classes. While this does not prevent an attack, it will give you more confidence to challenge your attacker.

4) Be Aware. Look at your surroundings as if you were a criminal. Where are the weak points of entry? Where could one easily hide and escape? What can you do to strengthen those areas? Sometimes adding more outside lighting can be a deterrent.

5) Own a Dog. Or a DOG. It doesn't have to be a pit bulldog, but little Fifi's not going to help much. Often having a dog in the house or in the yard will be enough of a warning signal to alert you that something is up. This can prevent you from being completely caught off guard, which is to your advantage.

Not everyone will face this type of situation, but for those who do, it is a forever life-altering experience. We need to do more to educate people to be prepared to face and overcome this type of violence. Thanks for listening and caring enough about your loved ones to share this information.

attack in the night

Dear Dr. Phil, I wanted to tell u about what happened a couple of weeks ago. My darling niece was at her dad's store. In the middle of the afternoon, she was savagely attacked by a young man with a claw hammer. Only by the grace of God was she not killed. I lost my son to suicide 6yrs ago on 10/6. We are still reeling from that an then this happens. She is still traumatized by the blows. She said every time she closed her eyes she still sees the hammer. My brother installed a video camera in the store and they showed it on the local news. I hope someone turns him in before he kills someone. But also I hope that she will be able to see this show and maybe learn something. Her little brother and little sister saw her after the attack an they are also traumatized by the attack. We talked to the police and they said that was one of the best videos they had ever seen. So I hope someone sees it an finds him. I really feel for my brother because I know exactly how he feels but at least he still has her to hold and love. He did close the store. Said it was not worth the extra money he was making. But I'm glad to know that your show might be able to help them both, it they are able to watch it. But it might still be too soon. But nonethe less thanks for what you do for the public.

Bad Cops

Have you ever thought about the people in our community that are supposed to be good people but they are one's commiting crimes also. It would be interresting to know how many more people out there have been raped by a police officer and no charges have been filed due to threats.

There may be a few bad cops out there but they are few and far between. We have two sons that are great cops and work hard everyday to protect the ones they serve.

Greg Becker

Greg looks great and I know he is thankful for the help and support he is receiving from Dr. Phil, his coworkers and his community. My prayers continue to go out to the neighborhood and Estela and Greg as they work to put their lives back together.

i can understand why this couple had no hand gun in the home

its a good parent that keeps danger away from there children, but what they could relly use is a 175 pound german shepard like i have, dr phil i cant even walk her in my neighborhood when other people are out walking, she watches there every move, the last time i had her out a couple was crossing the street coming in my direction when they got on the same side of the street i was on it was all i could do to hold this dog back, she will protect me and my familey, no guns relly needed in my home at all, i had to ask the couple to please go back to the other side of the street so she would go out of watch them mode, if they had taken 1 more step in my direction god only knows what she would have done, ive never trasined her to protect me like this its just a german shepards nature to protect there family and god help any one even raising there voice to a child of any age, she dont play that crap she will attact some one even trying to get close to any child in anger, dam good dog to have if you are married to a spouse who has a anger problem and wont go get help lol, this little pup can take a 250 pound man down so fast he would swear it was a team of dogs, and i can tell you if any one came in my home they wouldnt get away my baby would smile at them till the police arived and asked me to get her to stop smiling so they could arrest the perp, when this dog stands on her back feet she can look a 6ft2in man square in the eye, if he dare.!!!

The Neigbors Fear

I am perplexed at something that the neighbor lady said when talking to Dr. Phil. Maybe I misunderstood, but I don't think so. She was talking about how terrifed she is in her home, then she says that she jumped with fear when someone came into her back door, (it was a friend or neighbor whom she was not expecting).

WHY would you, especially after going through what they have in that neighborhood sit inside their house with the doors unlocked? To do this even in the day time is dangerous. ANYONE can walk into your house without you knowing and attack you or hide and wait to attack you at night. If this neighbor is truly that frightened, I can't believe she would not lock her doors. Something is weird about that.

Even the Police have "bosses"...

Have you ever thought about the people in our community that are supposed to be good people but they are one's commiting crimes also. It would be interresting to know how many more people out there have been raped by a police officer and no charges have been filed due to threats.

The only thing you can do in a case like this is ask for an Internal Investigation....they aren' t all corrupt , in fact most are great protectors of us all..there are exceptions in any field...

I personally would go to a different Police detatchment to lodge my complaint ...AFTER having the RAPE KIT done and photo's taken....Karen

Maybe it's just me...

Maybe it's just me but something isn't right about this whole thing.I don't mean the attack of course that's is not right it was horrilbe but I mean the way in wich it happened. I just can't put my finger on it but something is just a little off about the whole thing. Thank God the husband is still alive and the children and the rest of the family are ok though. Also a wise thing to do is NEVER KEEP YOUR DOORS UNLOCKED!! I wouldn't even leave my doors unlocked if I lived in Beverly Hills! I'm not saying this is why he was attacked or saying people deserve things like that happen to them. I'm just saying that to all the people with the "I pay taxes it's my God given right to keep my doors unlocked" or " Not in this neighborhood it's so safe because it's an affluent area" ANYTHING can happen ANYWHERE people stop living in a dream land.